The shipping industry officer crew shortage is said to be receding, according to a new study compiled by Drewry.
Shipping will require an additional 42,500 officers by the end of 2019 to cope with the expected growth in the main cargo carrying fleet, equivalent to 7% growth over the five year period.
Drewry says current officer supply is in the order of 615,000 and there is a nominal shortfall of about 15,000 officers, which is expected to remain the case until 2019.
In the main the shortfall is made up by officers working longer shift patterns, the UK-based shipping consultancy adds.
“There is still a shortage of officers but the gap between demand and supply has narrowed as the recent growth in fleet size is coming to an end,” said Malcolm Jupe, lead analyst at Drewry.
“It is also the case that ships are getting bigger and larger ships provide more shipping capacity for the same number of vessels. This is also helping to ease some of the pressure on manning.”
